I preordered  the Kindle version  of Woodward’s book, which notified me of delivery  to my account at 10:15 last night.  I guess Amazon is on Eastern Time; I’m in the Mountain Zone.

Is it a coincidence that Simon and Schuster released this book by Bob Woodward on 9/11, the anniversary of America’s worst attack since Pearl Harbor? I think not.

I have already posted three commentaries on the events of 9/11,  their personal connection to my family (2008, 2011 and 2014) and how my Buddhist faith applies. This will be my fourth post on the subject, in which I will explain my lack of coincidence comment and how times have changed–for the worse, politically. Some snippets from those prior posts will help explicate things. I’ll start with the 2014 post.

At the outset, I offer my profound sympathies to those who lost friends and loved ones to the actions of Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist followers. . . .  While death comes to us all, it is  disturbing when it comes unnaturally at the hands of another. From my Buddhist perspective, this is a function of karma–the effects one receives as a result of causes one has made.

My wife, who worked as a civilian for the Department of the Army, had applied but failed to get a job at the Pentagon a few years before the 9/11 attack. Here’s an excerpt from the 2008 post.

The location of the section she applied for was at or near the point of the plane’s impact on 9/11. Several people in the section, including the person who did get the position, died in the attack that day. . . . Karma is a strange thing, which we cannot fathom or explain completely. . . . I empathize with those who lost loved ones on that day even as I feel great appreciation that my wife didn’t get a promotion that would have killed her.

The clip below comes from the 2011 post.  In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attack, a bipartisan fervor swept the the nation, during which Democrats and Republicans united in support of efforts to care for survivors and rebuild. The unity and bipartisan cooperation lasted perhaps 18 months.

More than ever, we all need to remember the sacrifices of those who died on 9/11 and as a result of the aftermath. More than that, we need to rekindle the compassion and cooperation that briefly enveloped America.

Alas, for the last 15 years, division and derision have instead enveloped America. The 2016 election gave us Donald J. Trump–the most corrupt, ignorant, incompetent, racist and unfit person ever to occupy the White House. He did so only with the able assistance of Vladimir Putin’s agents, James Comey’s inappropriately ill-timed announcements about investigations of Hillary Clinton’s emails and Clinton’s own inept campaign strategies–not to mention voters who stayed home. Then there’s the antiquated Electoral College.

So why did the Woodward book come out on 9/11? America, and the World has as much or more to fear from Trump as Osama Bin Laden, ISIS, Kim Jong Un, or any number of terrorists. While I have yet to begin reading, it’s clear from what we know already how dangerously deranged and incompetent he is. The book, from excerpts and interviews will undoubtedly offer ample proof. But it’s not just Trump we need to fear, it’s what the GOP is doing to America that poses as much  or more of a threat as terrorists. After all, they’re right here in charge of Congress and will protect Trump at all costs!

For at least the last decade, the end  ALWAYS justifies the means to the GOP.  It only became worse–much worse, with the advent of the Trump Cult.

While principled conservatives and people of conscience have left the GOP, the substantial remainder will stop at nothing to advance their objectives and overlook any excesses by Trump. It’s the GOP-led attacks on the FBI, the Justice Department and the Intelligence Committee that puts America at as much or more risk than it was 17 years ago. 

At one time, the Republican party stood for law and order (excessively and wrongly so in Richard Nixon’s case). At one time, compassionate conservatism may not have been an oxymoron.  At one time, Republicans called the Soviet Union the Evil Empire. Not anymore–not when rob from the poor to feed the rich tax cuts can be had. Not when a craven candidate for the Supreme Court has arrived to dump Roe v. Wade and protect Trump–even if he perjured himself at previous confirmation hearing.

Their conduct may be short of treasonous in the legal definition, but they are aiders, abettors and enablers of the criminally corrupt man who dishonestly won the White House. They will lie, they will cheat, they will steal, they will obstruct, they will never ever compromise on anything.

• They demand investigative data on the Mueller probe–information that could reveal and endanger the lives of intelligence sources and compromise prosecution of conspirators of Russia’s attack on America’s 2016 election
• They attack and destroy the careers of dedicated civil servants with spotless crime-fighting records in order to protect Trump from the consequences of his criminal behavior
• They suppress voting by Democrats by imposing unreasonable ID requirements, reducing hours of and numbers of polling locations, curtail voting registration, purging voting rolls and more
• They gerrymander districts to ensure Republicans have an advantage in elections (courts are now overturning those maps)
• Mitch McConnell restricted the ability of President Obama to get district and appellate court appointments confirmed; now Trump’s appointments are fast-tracked
• Mitch McConnell wouldn’t even hold a hearing on Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, but now is fast-tracking the confirmation hearings of ideologue, liar and potential Trump savior Brett Kavanaugh

The reality is, with few if any exceptions, the current crop of Congressional GOP members (and probably many, if not most of state and local ones as well) have no shame–and no moral principles. Most would be better suited to positions in any number  of kleptocracies around the World, like the Russian Federation. 

The Blue Wave is coming for the House–perhaps even for the Senate. Wait for 2020–when McConnell will be ousted and others of his ilk will be shamed into submission. Maybe a new GOP will emerge–or a new party altogether, the first in over 150 years.

So yes, this is a good day for Fear: Trump in the White House to be published. Karma will have it’s due.